In this deeply honest and hopeful episode, I sit down with writer, musician, and creator Lauren McQuistin—author of No Lost Causes Club and the voice behind @brutalrecovery—to talk about getting sober young, building emotional muscles from scratch, and what it really means to reclaim your life when alcohol stops serving you.

We explore sobriety as self-respect, the discomfort and beauty of feeling your feelings fully, and the weird, tender limbo of recovering before anyone expects you to need to. Lauren shares the realities of early recovery, from navigating parties and friendships without numbing through them, to rewriting the story of who you think you are and who you’re allowed to become.

This is a conversation about agency, grace, and second chances; about learning that you don’t need to destroy yourself to be interesting, and that healing isn’t boring, it’s radical, difficult, and sometimes hilarious.

If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s another way to live (one grounded in self-trust, community, and staying soft in a world that rewards collapse) this episode is for you.

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